The Shloer Tropi-cool bottle reminds me of a silver Mercedes. Sleek and professional, yet not fun or edgy. The packaging looks dated. Perhaps it would appeal to the rider of an old fashioned bicycle or ageing enthusiast, but not the young hipster.

The label provides no backstory, like the smoothies I’ve been reviewing over the previous weeks. It does stand out clearly though, with white contrasting with the amber body of the fluid.

Branding then, was rather matter of fact. At least price was very cheap at just £1 for the 750ml vessel.

As for the history, the est. date is given for Shloer on the bottle front as 1935. Yet nothing on the front gives any indication of what the drink should contain, or brand meaning. I can’t even guess what country it’s from just from the Shloer name …
After retrieving my magnifying glass, the bottle label did reveal Gloucester as the site for feedback on the drink, but whether it’s made there, we need to delve online to find out.

At least it mentions the flavours below the Tropi-cool slogan, of “Tropical mango” and “Passionfruit”. From the days I used to share a j20 with my 12 year old gangster pals, I know how tasty passionfruit can be from that ” j20 orange and passionfruit” flavour. It was one of my childhood favourites, so I’m hopeful that my older (and somewhat more used) mouth, will still appreciate passionfruit juice flavour.

The description mentions carnival, but branding doesn’t appear celebratory, as mentioned. Colourful, sweet, tropical, tangy, tart, treat, are words all used in the description.

The drink is described as a “grape juice” drink, leading me to believe that this is the brand identity for Shloer. This was later clarified as 30% on the ingredients list, with no indication of the level of passionfruit or mango contained within. These must be included under the heading “natural flavourings”, but clearly wouldn’t contribute to any health benefits.
It did add that “Stevia leaf extract” provided the sweetener present, affirming that aronia juice and safflower extract had also been used.

With all other components seeming negligible, it seems reasonable to assume all health benefits in this product come exclusively from grapes.

Resveretrol is an antioxidant naturally occurring in grapes. Since grapes are used in wine production, this is often suggested as the reason why drinking wine in moderation can confer health benefits. With grape juice comprising 30% of this shloer product, many of the same benefits of wine can be enjoyed, without the risks from excessive alcohol consumption here. Shloer by nature, is alcohol-free.

The science of Resveretrol …

This antioxidant works by helping the body regulate blood lipid levels. This in turn helps reduce the risk for heart disease development.

With aronia juice levels unspecified, and safflower extract only, being used in this product, health benefits could have been increased.

Returning to the drink ….

The website suggests it was developed in 1935 in Switzerland by Professor Jules Shloer, and is still based on the original recipe, retaining no artificial colours or preservatives.

As for taste experience, it adds “Sparkling”, and “sweeteners” to the fray. The product is labelled suitable for both vegetarians and vegans, a particularly important message for the current consumer.

Overall then, taste expectations would be moderately carbonated and tangy, with considerable sweetness from the sweeteners. I’d hope to taste passionfruit and mango aswell.

Smell

The smell quickly emerged, probably indicating considerable carbonation. It provided a light and fruity, pure mango haze. This was very natural and pleasant, perhaps promising of a good utopia of flavour to collapse into.

Taste

The taste began as a refreshing mango taste, but quickly faded into a rather thin and watery mouthfeel. This contained a rather overpowering artificial sweet taste. As consumption continued, the carbonation level was very good for enhancing the tang and could be described as moderate. The tang was also assisted with the fruit in the main body of the flavour. Unfortunately this was only mango, with no elements of passionfruit or grape noticeable.

Of the ingredients used, the passionfruit and mango were included under the banner “Natural flavourings”. Of these tastes, the mango whilst certainly natural tasting, dominated completely.

The only flavour that came through was mango and artificial sweetness really. The product with watery mouthfeel, felt more of a slimline mixer drink than anything luxurious or particularly enjoyable; Heaven forbid “special” for the consumer.

The aftertaste quickly faded, due to the watery nature of the fluid. This was still a slightly sickly artificial mango taste, which whilst refreshing, wasn’t natural by any means.